Locomotive with superheater.



L KINDERVATER.

IocoIvIoTIvE WITH SUPERHEATER.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 3o. I9I2.

(Patnted May 2,1916.

5 SHEETS-SWEET l.

WTNESSES /NVENTOR L'KINDEHVATEH. LQCOMOTIVE WITH SUPERH-EATER.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 2- www.

INVENTOR l., KINDERVATER.

Locomorlvi WITH SUPERHEATER.

APPLWW" "LED m' 3' m2 Patented May 2,1916.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

WITNESSES Allomej/s J. KINDERVATER.

LOCOMOTIVE WITH SUPEHHEATER. APPLICATION man Amao'. 1912.

.INVENTOR 5 `SHEETS-SHEET 4 Patented May 2 nu MJnll,

WITNESSES J. KINDERVATER.

LocoMoTlvE WITH SUPERHEATER.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 30. 1912.

Patented Muy 1916.

www,

5 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

JULIUSKINDERVATER, or RICHMOND, VIRGINIA, AssIGNoR "ro Locoiao'rIvE SUPER HEATER- COMPANY, 0F NEW YORK, Y., A CORPORATION 0F DELAWARE.

LOCOMOTIVE WITH SUPERHEATER.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, JULIUs KINDERVATER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Richmond, in the county of Henrico and State of Virginia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Locomotives with Superheaters, of which the following is a specification.

an improved construction of header, and also a novel and efficient method of securing the superheater tubes thereto.-

A further object is to provide an improved arrangement of throttle valve for .controlling the flow of steam to the engine cylinders.

A still further object is to provide means for causing `steam to circulate from the boiler through the superheater and back into the boiler whenever the flowof steam to the engine is interrupted, thereby preventing burning of the superheater tubes, and dispensing with the necessity for the use of dampers hitherto employed? In order that the variousy features-of my invention may be readily understood reference is had to the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification, and in which,

Figure 1 is a central longitudinal section through a portion of a locomotive boiler showing one form of header in position in the smoke box and my improved throttle valve connected therewith, as well as the means for securing circulation of steam through the superheater, as described; Fig. 2 is a front view of the 'superheater header and tubes, the throttle valve and boiler shell being in section lon the line 2-2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a central longitudinal section through my improved' throttle valve casing; Fig. 4 is Aa central longitudinal section through the auto Specification of Letters Patent. i

application mea April ao, 1912. serial No. 694,120.

Patented May 2, 1916.

matic circulating valve, hereinafter deg scribed; Fig. 5 isa view similar to Fig. 1,

tionaldetail substantially on the line 9-9 of Fig. 7 showing the method of attaching the superheater tubes to the header; Fig.'10 is a similar view at right angles to Fig. 9, the header being in section on the line 10--10 of Fig. 5; Figs'. 11 and 12 are fragmentary detail views showing a sectional elevation and a sectional plan, respectively, of the improved tap bolt which I employ; Fig. 13 is a vertical longitudinal section through still another form of header which I may employ; Fig. 14 is a sectional plan viewtaken i substantially onv the line 14.--14 of Fig. 1,3 looking in the direction of the arrow and showing the superheater tubes connected to the header; and, Fig. 15 is a sectional plan Y view, on a reduced scale, showing a slightly modified foi-m of the header illustrated in Figs. 5, 6 and 7. l

Referring to the drawings in detail and irst more particularly to Figs: 1 and 2, the boiler shell is designated by the numeral 1 and the usual steam dome by the numeral 2. 3 designates the dry pipe which extends inside the boiler shell from the steam dome to the smoke box, and, passing through the tube sheet 7, is provided with a fitting 3a adapted to be connected with a superheater header. -The header shown in Figs. l and 2 comprises three compartments, 4, 5 and 6, all extending parallel with each other and with the tube sheet 7. The compartment 4 is provided with an intake nozzle terminating in a lange4a adapted to engage the fitfiguration, vertically. and centrally disposed..

in the smoke box with the discharge nozzle A5a projecting up lthrough the top of the boiler shell. It will also be noted that .the compartments 4 and 6 are in communicatlon by means of a passage at the bottom of the header. In fact the compartments 4 and 6 with their connecting passage may be considered as but a-single compartment surrounding the compartment 5 on three sides, all of the compartments lying in the same plane, and being disposed one behind the other in substantial alinement. 8 designates enlarged lire tubes or ues which extend from the fire box (not shown) to the tube sheet 7, and in these enlargedlues are disposed the superheater tubes 9. The side Walls of compartments 4, 5 and 6 are provided with a number of openings 4', 5 and 6 with which' openings the ends of the superheater tubes 9 communicate. The superheater tubes are of the double return bend type and are fitted with return bends 9a and 9b at their rear ends and with the return bend 9c at their forward ends, thus making four lengths of tube in each flue. The two free ends of the tube in each flue are connected with an anchor block 10, two such adjacent blocks being spanned by a yoke 11, held 'in place by means of a bolt and nut 12,

.in a manner hereinafter described. Referring to Fig. 2 it will be noted that there are four vertical rows of enlarged flues on each side of my centrally disposed vertically extending header. four such enlarged flues in each horizontal row on each side of the header. By referenc-e to Fig. l, it will be noted that two anchor blocks 10 lie in the same horizontal plane and that there are four such blocks opposite the end of'each horizontal row of enlarged flues. Interference is prevented by virtue of the fact that the tubes from two of the lues are connected to the upper pair of blocks 10 while the tubes from the other two lues are connected to the lower pair of blocks. This is made possible by arranging the front return bend alternately at the upper and at the lower portion of the enlarged iues. It is thought this novel method of connecting the tubes to the header will be understood without further discussion. It results in reducing to a minimum the number of joints and bolts necessary to provide a given amount of heating surface and also enables any superheater unit to be readily 'removed without affecting any but its immediate neighbor. The details of the bolt and anchor-blocks will be described in connection with Figs. 5 and 7.

Referring againto Fig. 1, 13 designates the Iusual stack, immediately behind which projects the nozzle 5a of the superheater header. Secured to and supported by this nozzle I provide the casing 14 of my improved throttle valve.` This casing is pro- In other words there are and with a removablel end wall 15 which 'carries a stuiiing boX 15a, through which passes the operating rod 16 of the throttle valve. This valve is preferably of the balanced type and may comprise a pair of disks 17, 18, separated by a ribbed body 19 and adapted to engage beveled seats formed in the ends of an internal casing 20. At each side the valve casing 14 is provided with flanged couplings 14", 14, to which steam pipes 21, 22 are adapted to be connected, such pipes extending down on each side of the boiler` to the engine cylinders. It will be observed that the throttle valve and steam pipes leading to the cylinders are entirely outside of the boiler shell, whereby ready access to the parts'is aHorded for inspection and repair.' All .of the joints are readily accessible without the necessity of going inside the boiler or smoke box. The'operating rod 16 may be connected with the cab by any suitable system of links and levers, it

being possible in some instancesto have the ull rod extend for a considerable distance inside of the hollow hand rail (not shown) which usually exists along the side ofthe boiler over the running board. In order that it may be possible to repack the joints or grind the seats of the throttle valve or associated parts without the necessity for drawing the fire an'd waiting for the locomotive to entirely cool down as heretofore, I provide the end of the dry pipe 3 in the steam dome 2 with a out 0E valve 23having a stem 24 extending through a stuffing box 25 and terminating in a hand wheel 26. By turning the wheel 26 the valve 23 may be closed and thus steam may be entirely shut olf from the superheater and throttle valve.

Under normal conditions, however, it will be noted that the throttle valve, instead of being located between the boiler and superheater as heretofore, is disposed between the superheater and engine, whereby, even when the throttlevalve is closed,'so as to shut off steam from the engine, the superheater is nevertheless filled with steam. This -is de- 28 which controls communication between a pipe 29 -connected with the top of the boiler and a pipe 30 connected with the top of the superheated steam compartment 5 of the header. The valve 28 is controlled by a piston 31 which is adapted to be moved to the position shown in Fig. 4 by steam pressure entering through the pipe 30 whenever the throttle is open, such pipe 30 being connected withl one of vthe steam pipes,

`such as 21. When the throttle is open therefore the valve 28 is held closed and communication between the pipes 29 and 30 is shut off. When, however, the flow of steam through the superheater to the engine is interrupted by reason of the closing of the throttle valve, there is no longer any pressure applied to the piston 31 and the boiler pressure acting through pipe 29 against the valve 28 serves to unseat the same. Thereupon'a slow circulation of steam from the steam dome through the dry pipe 3, compartments 4 and 6 of the superheater, tubes 9, compartment 5, pipe 30 and pipe 29 back to boiler is set up. Such circulation is due to Y the lfact that the steam in compartment 5 being superheated is much lighter and has much greater elasticityl than that in the steam dome and therefore tends to rise and How through the pipe 30. This movement keeps up a constant changing of the steam in the superheater tubes thereby producing a cooling action and preventing the excessive heating thereof. In thisway I am enabled to dispense with the dampers heretofore employed for controlling the draft through the flues when the engine is not using steam.

Referring to Figs. 5, 6 and 7 I have shown my three compartment header arranged as a top header. In these views the compartments are designated by the numerals 32, 33 and 34, the compartments 32 and 34 in reality constituting but a single compartment, and entirely surrounding the compartment 33, being separated therefrom by the dividing wall 35 (see Fig. 6). This header, however, has the same characteristics as that shown in Figs. 1 and 2, viz., the three compartments all lie in one plane and extend parallel with each other and with the tube sheet. casting is a thin flat structure presented edgewise in the smoke boX and the compartments lie one behind the other in substantial alinement. The front wall of this header is designated by the reference character 36 and the top and bottom walls by the characters 37 and 38 respectively. Projecting centrally upward from the top wall is a discharge nozzle 39 which is connected with a short length of pipe 40 extending up through the boiler shell and terminating in a flange 40a, to which flange the flange 14a of the throttle valve casing may be secured, as in' Fig. 1. The compartment 32 is provided with an intake nozzle 32a adapted 4to engage the fitting 3a of the dry pipe.

The arrangement of superheater tubes in connection with the header shown in Figs. 5, 6 and 7 is substantially the same as that shown in Figs. 1 and 2 except that, of course,

. they are only on one side of the header,

that is, at the bottom thereof. lThe same pairs of anchor blocks and yokes are, however, employed, and there are four enlarged Moreover the header fines in each row, the front return bends being arranged alternately onopposite sides of the iues, as clearly shown in Fig. 7, in order that proper connection with the respective anchor blocks may beeiected, as described in connection with Figs. 1 and 2. As a result of the novel and characteristic arrangement of the superheater tube ends shown and described in connection with' Figs. 1, 2, 5, and 7, it will be observedthat not only do the ends of each unit lie directly one behind the other, but that all four ends belonging to a pair of units are disposed in a row, one behind the other longitudinally oI the boiler. It will also be noted that the face of the header structure to which the superheater tubes are connected lies at right angles to the tube sheet, and that the enlarged flues are arranged in rows extending in a direction at right angles to such face of the header structure.

The form' of attaching device which I preferito use for securing the tubes to the headers in all of the figures of the drawing so far described is shown in detail in Figs. 8 to 12 inclusive. Referring to these figures,

into each of the openings, such as 4', 5, 6',

in Fig. l, or 37, in Fig. 6, I insert a tapering screw threaded sleeve or nipple 41. These nipples are screwed into thewall of the header and have their outer ends projecting slightly therefrom, the outer end of each nipple is cut on a curve, such as indicated at 42 in Fig. 8, such curve being preferably a segment of a sphere. Altv the end of each tube 9 is forged or otherwise formed a solid, thickened, enlarged portion 9, known as a ball connection. This thickened end is cut beveled on the inside thereof as indicated at 9e to form a flaring mouth, such mouth being of a size to receive the rounded edges of the nipple 41. When brought into engagement, such rounded edge contacts with the beveled edge of the tube in such a manner as to form a line joint, and, by slightly grinding the parts together with emery, or the like, a close fitting steam connection is easily and effectively secured. The anchor blocks 10 are provided with openings 10b of a size adapted to permit the tubes 9 to pass freely therethrough, the enlarged ends 9d of the tubes being engaged by seats in the face of the anchor block. Each anchor block 10 is also preferably provided at its middle with a seat or depression 10a adapted to receive a protuberancel l1a formed on each end ofthe yoke 11, to prevent slipping. Each yoke is clamped against the anchor blocks by means of a tap bolt 43 which is set into the wall, such as 38, of the header. By reference to Fig. 11 it will be noted that these bolts are preferably set into the header at a point opposite the partition walls thereof, such as 35, thereby insuring a good hold. After the bolt 43 is screwed into place it is slightly yiattened on one side and a key 44 laid against the Hattened portion, such key resting in a notch 45 nicked out inthe header adjacent the bolt hole. After the key has been inserted, a locknut 43a is screwed down over the key so as to hold the parts in position. Thus the tap bolt is prevented from turning. The outer end of this bolt passes through the yoke 11, which is held in place by means of a nut 12 screwed on the outer end of the bolt, a' washer 44 being preferably interposed between the nut and yoke. It will be noted that the nut 12 is closed at its outer end, or, in other words, is what is known as a blind nut, whereby the end of the bolt on which the screw threads are formed is protected from the corrosion of the cases.

Referring t0 Figs. 13 and 14 I have shown still another form of header structure .wh ich, although different from those shown in the othery figures, embodies many of their characteristics. Like those above described .it consists of a thin fiat casting set edge wise in the smoke box perpendicular to the tube sheet and has the same vertically extending discharge nozzle 53 provided with the flange 53a adapted to receive the thro-ttle valve casing. Also, like the 4form of headers,shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the header shown in Figs. 13 and 14 is centrally and vertically disposed and is adapted to have superheater tubes connected to both sides thereof. It will be observed that the corresponding ends of a plurality of the superheater tubes`are arranged one behind the other longitudinally ofl the boiler.

- The header shown in Figs. 13 and 14 comprises wet and dry steam compartments 47 and 48, respectively, the compartment 47 having an intake nozzle 46 provided with a lflange 46*1 and adapted to be connected with the dry pipe 8. The compartment 47 is provided with a number of branches 49 and the compartment 48 is provided with a number of branches 50, these branches projecting at substantially right `angles to their respective compartments and lying parallel with each other. The side walls of these compartments areprovided with openings 49a and 50a adapted to receive the superheater tubes. These may be held in place either by through to accommodate the bolts. This arrangement is shown in Figs. 13 and 14, and the through bolts are designated by the numeral 52. The same anchor blocks 10 and yokes 11 may, however, be employed.,

If desired, the headers shown in Figs. 1 and 5 may also be designed for use with through bolts instead of tap bolts. In Fig. l5 I have illustrated how the structure' of Figs. 5 and 6 can be modified so as to adapt it for use in connection with the through boltsshown in Figs. 13 and 14 or covered by my above mentioned (zo-pending appl-ication. The change consists in providing the partition walls with open slots 54 through which the bolts may pass. This also has the advantage of preventing heat transfer between the saturate and lsuperheated steam compartments. Y

It will of course be understood that my improved throttle valve and my improved circulating device may be employed either independently vor together in connection with any of the forms of header shown in the drawings, and also it is apparent that my improved throttle valve arrangement can be advantageously employed even where no superheater is used, the dry pipe connecting directly with the valve casing. It is also obvious that inside steam pipes from the valve casing to the engine cylinders may be employed instead of the outside pipes shown, if desired.

It will thus be seen that I have provided an improved locomotive and superheater construction, the broad principles of which may be embodied in a number of different forms, and it is thought that the many advantages of my invention will be readily. appreciated by those familiar with the requirements of such devices.

What I claim is:

1. The combination with a locomotive boiler having the usual smoke box and stack, of a superheater mounted in said smoke box, said superheater comprising va header having a single central discharge nozzle projecting up through the top of the boiler shell at a point behind the smoke stack, and a throttle valve casing detachably mounted on such projecting nozzle wholly outside of said smoke box.

2. In a superheater structure, the combination with a header having openings therein, of nipples screw threaded into said openings, superheater tubes having their ends formed to fit the projecting ends of such nipples and disposed in axial alinement therewith and means for clamping such tubes against said nipples so as to form a steam tight joint.

3. In a superheater structure, the combination` with a header having openings therein, of nipples screw threaded into said openends 4and having the inside of such thickened ends cut to a beveled edge, the' ends of said nipples being provided with a rounded edge, and adapted to engage the beveled edge of said tubes so as to form a line joint, and means for clamping said tubes against said nipples.

4. In 'a superheater structure, the combination with a header having openings therein, of nipples screw threaded into said openings, `superheater tubes provided with solid enlarged and thickened ends, and having such ends internally beveled so as to form iaring mouths, the 'ends of said nipples being so formed as to lit within such beveled mouths to constitute a tight joint, and

means for clamping said 4tubes against said nipples, such means comprising anchor blocks adapted to engage the enlarged ends of said tubes.

5. In a superheater structure, the combination with a header having openings therein, of superheater tubes adapted to communicate with said openings, anchor blocks in closin the ends of such tubes, and means for c amping` said anchor blocks to the header, such means comprising a tap bolt screwed into the header, a key for preventing rotation of said bolt,` a lock nut for holding said ke in position, and a nut on the outer end o said bolt. f

6. In a steam boiler superheater,a header `structure consisting of 'an integral casting comprising a pair of substantially rectangular steam compartments, one of said compartments completely surrounding the other on all four sides thereof and both compartments lying in the same plane.

The combination with a locomotive boiler comprising the usual tube sheet and smoke box, of a superheater comprising a header structure located in said smoke box, said header comprising a central and a pair of side compartments, said side compartments being in communication with each other, all of said 'compartments extending sheet, and lying in the same plane, one behind the other, longitudinally of the boiler in substantial alinement.

8. rlhe combinationv with a locomotive boiler comprising the usual smoke box and tube sheet, and 'lues set into said sheet, of a superheater comprising a header made up of an elongated central compartment extending parallel with the tube sheet, and an outer compartment substantially surrounding said central compartment, said header consisting of an integral casting of relatively thin, liat configuration extending horizontally and transversely across the upper part of the smoke box and disposed edgewise therein with said compartments lying one directly behind the other in substantial alinement, longitudinallyof the boiler, and superheater tubes arranged Within the lines-and having their ends communicating with the respective compartments of said header.

9. The combination with a locomotive 7,0 boiler comprisin the usual smoke box and tube sheet, and ues set into said sheet, of a superheater comprising a header fmade up of an elongated central compartment extending parallel with the tube sheet, and an outer compartment substantially surrrounding said central compartment, said header consistin of an integral casting of relatively thm, flat configuration disposed edgewise in said smoke box with said compartments lying one directly behind the other, in substantial alinement, longitudinally of the boiler, and superheater tubes arranged within the flues and having their ends communicating with the respective compartments of said header.

In testimony whereof I aix my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

JULIUS- KINDERVATER. Witnesses:

Gmo. W. NIoHoLAs,

JN0. S'. AGNEW. 

